Fire, Light, and Floodwater's Height
by Dr.Kim-chan
Summary: Rated for later. What if Axel's last words weren't his last? What if Demyx was more than he appeared? An ensuing AxelRoxasDemyxSoraRiku love pentagon? Kingdom Hearts is the least of Sora's worries now! Chap 5 now up! Saix is a butterfly?
1. Vexen's Notes

Title: Fire, Light, and Floodwater's Height

By: Dr. Kim-chan

Me: Hello to all here! I am so excited since it's my first KH fic, so be nice. And of course, I have to have my muses to do commentary and keep things funny, even if it is a romance/drama whatever. (snaps fingers, a dark portal appears, and out drops Axel, Roxas, and Demyx)

Axel: Where the hell are we?

Me: (says in a dark, booming voice) YOU WORK FOR ME NOW! (laughs maniacally)

Demyx: (jumps up and grabs Axel by the arm) Who is that woman!

Roxas: (looks around) Hey, you wouldn't be another slash fanfic writer who brought us into their Kingdom Hearts story so that we can be forced to comment on and/or be in, would you?

Me: Sharp as always, Mr. Thirteen. (hears groans of disappointment) But don't worry. I'm very easy to get along with. (raises a box of wine)

Axel and Demyx: (cheer, but Roxas looks unsure)

Me: Hell, no one's gonna report us. (throws him a glass) Besides, I'm sure you've done worse things than drink…(looks "incidentally" in Axel's direction) Anyway, let's get this show on the road! It starts weird (in Vexen's POV, actually), but it has a LOT to do with these three cloaked cuties. Note to the readers: Three dots before a paragraph indicates a change in time and/or location. I can't figure out how the spacing works on and I don't know if I ever will.

Disclaimer: You've won this round, Square Enix and Disney, but mark my words, SOMEDAY I'll have all the bishies locked in my basement! Except for Demyx, of course. He'll be in my room. (Demyx: gulp)

(Begin Chap. 1)

…_What exactly makes a Nobody?_

_All the members of the Organization, including myself, remember possessing hearts, and yet we do not have one. What does it take to remember your heart and the memories within it? What does it take to retain the advanced forms that we have, to be more than the lowly Dusks? Our brains can plot and speculate the future, but one can only attribute it so much credit to retaining certain types of memories. Literal memories, yes, but not so much the sympathetic memories that rely on and stimulate emotion—in other words, memories related to the heart. That is a special, isolated case and should be analyzed accordingly._

_We _do_ know that hearts are capable of creating connections…multitudes of them. Connections with their owners (or previous owners), connections with other people, connections in time and space. I have never doubted the Superior's theories. After all, he and I had both done researches with Ansem. But Ansem also once said hearts were complex, strong, and unpredictable…more than we would ever realize. If our hearts have been separated from our bodies completely, then it would not be possible to "feel" yearning for Kingdom Hearts. We would not "feel" those stimulating memories that drive us towards our objective…or would we? Unless…_

_This in mind, I hypothesize that hearts cannot be entirely erased from existence, nor is "darkness" an empty void from which there is no hope of escaping once a Nobody is defeated. There may even be more than one realm of darkness, or maybe multiple realms melded together in one complex singularity. The darkness where that boy Riku and King Mickey were trapped in…that was a different kind of darkness, a tangible darkness hidden behind a door. Then the eternal darkness Xemnas speaks of must be the parallel to Kingdom Hearts, where eternal light rests._

_But even that eternal darkness cannot erase a heart, a body, or a soul—that is, if they have been separated accordingly and if that person's will is strong enough. The only thing that can ensure such permanent separation is the Keyblade, and even that doesn't have total mastery over something as intangible as the heart. It simply releases it back into the darkness, whatever that may be._

_So, strong Nobodies like us, those who are part of the Organization…if our wish is strong enough…if we have the strength to pull our memories back from the darkness…if no one forgets us and we manipulate their memories as well…_

_Could we return? Is it easier than we've imagined to reclaim our hearts? _

_If my memory theory is correct, then all we must do is remember exactly what it was that made our hearts special, and which connections we held. Most importantly, we cannot forget how to feel. It is not merely the memories that are important. It is the emotions those memories are tied to. Anger, happiness, grief, despair, love…to forget all of that is to truly become a Nobody._

_No one in the Organization, however, has exhibited such irregular behavior or has any significant anomalies that would give any admission to these theories. Nor has the one called Sora done anything remarkable other than the fact he was able to link his heart with Kairi's, thus ensuring the return to his own form after he released the girl's heart and sacrificed his own, thus becoming a Heartless—_

_Wait._

_If Sora has proven to have such a strong heart that he was chosen to be a master of the Keyblade, and if he became a Heartless, even for a short while, a Nobody must have been produced! If we could only find him; he would be a perfect test subject. Sora IS a rather peculiar specimen, as are his two friends…_

_Until we finish our analyses of Sora, nothing can be proven or disproved yet. The Riku Replica is now complete. I will figure out my answers when the operation is carried out._

…These were the written notes of one particular member of the then-called "the Organization", just before the thirteenth member was discovered.

Vexen was more about continuing the research of his previous life than fighting, although future circumstances would not let this be. He was elated when Roxas finally joined the Organization, and followed his movements closely. His use of Keyblades and the element of light raised yet another possible fact: that one's personality and attributes in the previous life strongly, if not directly, affected the powers they received during their existence as a Nobody. This provided a moment of distraction as he allowed the observance of the others' powers provide a brief glimpse into their past lives. Vexen was even forced to examine himself. He remembered his fellow peers always commenting on his distant, critical nature.

Distant…cold…like the element of ice he utilized in battle. Withdrawn and protective…like his shield.

That, however, gave way to another, much more important development. Once Roxas joined the fray, he noticed Axel deviating from the standard. Axel didn't much care for the infighting going on in the Organization, but once Roxas entered the picture he became another man entirely, actively involving himself. There was an indescribable bond between him and Roxas. Vexen had been extremely close to discovering the answer, as well as finding out the answers to all of his other guesses. He could almost feel that ultimate solution he had sought after for so long.

But then something else happened. Something that would allow him to delve deeper into the question of whether strong Nobodies ever had a chance of returning to the realm of existence.

His own demise.

After Naminé erased Sora's memories and allowed him to sleep in order to regain them, the scandal within the Organization was revealed, and the remaining members fled to the World That Never Was, the man who at this time was called DiZ went into Castle Oblivion. But he was there to do more than retrieve Sora, Donald, and Goofy. He was also on the hunt for information. His assistants, foolish as they were, were brilliant to a point, and maybe their plots had unearthed more insight. He thought it particularly helpful to inspect Vexen's laboratory to look for data on the Riku Replica. He found more than that—a short stack of notes separate from his main log. Taking everything he could along with him, he moved his base of operations to a small, peaceful world called Twilight Town.

He reviewed the notes of the fake Ansem Sora had collected, as well as Vexen's and anything else that garnered his attention. A passage in Vexen's notes especially set his mind working:

"_But even that eternal darkness cannot erase a heart, a body, or a soul—that is, if they have been separated accordingly and if that person's will is strong enough. The only thing that can ensure such permanent separation is the Keyblade, and even that weapon doesn't have total mastery over something as intangible as the heart. It simply releases it back into the darkness, whatever that may be._

_So, strong Nobodies like us, those who are part of the Organization…if our wish is strong enough…if we have the strength to pull our memories back from the darkness…if no one forgets us and we manipulate their memories as well…_

_Could we return?…_"

If they could, his plans for revenge would be compromised. But then he remembered something else.

Yes, someone could return from the darkness, but under one small condition—if they had a body and soul to return to, even if it was a small piece. The memories of the person, or the memories other people held, would do the rest. He was able to make it out not just because of his will, but because his whole being had been exiled. Later along the line, Maleficent's dress—a piece of her body and being—was saved, and the memories of the Three Good Fairies brought her back.

On the other hand, his six assistants and those who perished in Castle Oblivion had forsaken their bodies and souls, allowing them to deteriorate for the sake of finding out what "rewards" the darkness held for them.

_The fools_, DiZ simply cursed them in his mind.

Then he spotted a more serious snag, one of the last entries in Vexen's private notes:

"_Number Eight, the one called Axel…I have seen considerable change in his behavior since Xemnas found Roxas. I had mentioned connections before. Among them all, very few are as strong as the bonds of friendship and love. It has already been repeated that Nobodies shouldn't be able to exhibit such human behaviors as we would if we had hearts. If that is true, there should be no accounting for the deepening, invisible bond between those two that Axel is trying so very hard to make sense of. I cannot do that myself; only speculation can give either of us comfort._

_Then here is another theory. Xemnas claims we cannot feel, but Axel and Roxas are providing a solid antithesis. Also, everything has a "light-dark" opposite. Nobodies and Heartless are but the dark shadows of one's former self. Kingdom Hearts has two sides: the realm of light and the realm of darkness. If that has two sides of existence, then its basic unit—the heart of an individual—must have two sides as well. Maybe, when we lose our hearts, its "shadow" is left behind…_

_That is a very dangerous statement, for it would mean the Superior's work has been in vain. Hearts once released, after all, relinquish themselves to the darkness, most likely back to their point of origin, Kingdom Hearts. But if we already hold the shade, then all we must do is search for its corresponding light._

_But…that would mean we'd been searching in the wrong place this whole time._

_Furthermore, this connection between Axel and Roxas is leading the former to near-destructive behaviors. I know the schemes that entangle Marluxia, Larxene, and all the others in the Organization; even I have been lured in somehow. Axel is playing both sides, though he has said there is nothing for him to gain. What is his true purpose, then? Does he want to eliminate us all?_

_No, not all of us._

_The only way to uncover Number Eight's true motives (and possibly solve another mystery or two of the heart) is to find out what triggered his connection to Roxas. Did this connection carry through from their previous lives? We are well aware Roxas was once Sora._

_So whose Nobody is Axel? Does the fire burning within him hold the truth?_

Those were very good questions to ask, but DiZ focused on the immediate problem at hand. Axel had managed to survive the onslaught in Castle Oblivion, and Roxas had abandoned the Organization a while ago. No question he was looking for Roxas, and if Riku succeeded in capturing Roxas, Axel was sure to follow. Because of his ability with the Keyblades, he was the most coveted member. They would be looking for him.

Until his plans were secure, Roxas would have to be hidden in the parallel Twilight Town. It worked in his favor that Roxas had no memory of being Sora, and he would have no recollection of being in Organization XIII after he was transferred.

I suppose you know what happened after that. DiZ went through with his plans, Roxas became a part of Sora again, Organization XIII was destroyed, and everyone returned to Destiny Islands. A happy ending was found by all…well, most. We also all know the sad fate of Axel.

But one more thing we do know—the quote on the back of the _Kingdom Hearts II_ box says, "The story isn't over." That was true enough. What of the letter in the bottle King Mickey sent? What about Vexen's theories?

Little is known about Vexen the Chilly Academic, but the notes he wrote down and the questions he dared to pose would set in motion a whole new story, a whole new quest for Sora and his friends. And the story thus far was only told from Sora's point of view. We may have to change the quote.

"_The story isn't complete._"

(End Chap. 1)

Me: If I haven't said it before, I'll say it now. This story is NOT for those who aren't philosophical. But then again, many fanfic authors like us are so crazy that we can actually understand philosophy. It's like being on drugs and watching the Matrix…which I won't recommend. (smiles innocently)

(Behind me, Axel, Roxas, and Demyx are stumbling around drunkenly.)

Demyx: My cloak…it's…sooooo BLACK, like a never-ending nighttime! (picks up the hem) That's why they call me the Melodious Nocturne…ha ha haaa…(tries to walk again, but he's still holding on to the hem, so he trips)

Me: (hides the other boxes of wine) I'll need them to actually be sober in order to comment, huh? Well, this chapter was just a real quick rundown of the events in both KH: CoM and KH2, a prologue of sorts. The next chapter is the actual start of the story, and takes place during CoM, and then it'll go from there.

Roxas: (hiccups) Bye-bye, fluffy, bunny-faced reading people in Reading Land. You go bye-bye now and nap I will…nap…I…(also falls over)

Me: That's it. No more wine for you, Blondie. (drags all three of them away)


	2. Begin, End, and Begin Again

Title: Fire, Light, and Floodwater's Height

By: Dr. Kim-chan

Me: Great. Now that my muses are sober again, we can get back to the—

Axel: What was with Vexen all theorizing and stuff in the first chapter? Isn't this story about us?

Me: Well, it actually involves everyone, so…(snaps fingers and all members of Organization XIII drops in)

Larxene: What in hell—? Didn't we die? (looks around) Damn. This is another fanfiction, isn't it?

Me: Yes, but I'm a nice one! I have presents for all! Xemnas, a dark dimension to brood in is over there. Xigbar gets a shooting range. Xaldin has a private jet on the roof. Vexen has a laboratory in the basement. Lexaeus, a gym's across the hall from Vexen. Zexion, an endless supply of scratch n' sniff stickers for you. Saïx, you get an observatory, provided you lock yourself in the padded cage when you feel an "episode" coming on. Axel gets a door to the center of the earth. Demyx has a recording studio, Marluxia has a greenhouse, and Luxord has a personal casino and bar. Larxene, there's a torture chamber in the dungeon, and for my little Roxie-woxie, a bedroom!

Roxas: What's so great about that?

Me: (pulls him aside) It has Axel posters, Axel bedsheets, all gaming systems known to man, and a chibi Axel plushie. (he faints) Yes, I know I spoil my muses, but it's the one surefire way to make sure they don't escape…poor fools. And change of plans! I'm going to start from the end of _Kingdom Hearts II_ instead; it'll be easier. It'll be like my own Kingdom Hearts III.

Axel: (mutters under breath) Copyrights…copyrights…

Me: I already said I don't own this stuff! I'm just saying it's my concept. They can't hold me for that. Freedom for ALL! (everyone looks at me strangely) Heh heh…on with the fic!

(Begin Chap. 2)

…The pristine, blue waves rolled in and out, lapping at the white sand. A soft breeze rustled the leaves of the palms and other assortment of tropical trees. The sea appeared to stretch out past the brilliant sunset and into eternity. For most of the people who lived on Destiny Islands, they had no recollection of the events which took place after their world was taken in by the darkness that fateful night. Therefore, they didn't know any more than before the chaos began. They either believe there were no other worlds or they didn't care to know. At least they had this little, peaceful place.

But three good friends knew better than that.

For the past year or so, Sora, Riku, and Kairi had been through enough trials and tribulations to strongly account for the fact that beyond this sea, there were many other worlds besides theirs. While their first plan—to build a raft and drift aimlessly—didn't go so well, and while sightseeing had been a dead second priority, they had met friends and made connections that would last a lifetime.

Off the main island, where the town was, there was that smaller island—the one all the kids loved hanging out at. That was where they had built the raft. That was where Sora first encountered Ansem (the false one, anyway). That was where they left that world to start their own journey.

And, just a few days ago, this quiet little shore had been alive with celebration as they returned.

A pair of large blue eyes stared off into the glowing horizon. Sora sat on the bench-like paopu fruit tree on a familiar tiny patch of land. Next to him stood a silver-haired boy a year older than him. There was nothing much to say, really. After those first few seconds of unsuppressed joy, reality hit harder than a sack of bricks. King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy had to return to Disney Castle, and they were sad to see each other (and let each other) go. Sora had been through the worst with Donald and Goofy, the same for Riku and King Mickey. But world order had to be respected, and both a concerned Queen Minnie and an angry Daisy had to be dealt with.

"_Nothing's changed, huh?_"

"_Nope, not really._"

A small world, but part of one much bigger…Sora thought deeply upon the words he and Riku had shared a day ago. Yes, a much bigger world…

"_Hey, guys!_"

The two heard Kairi's close voice and turned around to see her running towards them…

…Sora woke up with a start.

He looked around wildly. Nothing changed about his bedroom, either. Clothes were still strewn around, his toys and wood carvings put together on the shelf.

The letter.

On his nightstand was a piece of paper with King Mickey's official seal on the corner. He groaned. No, that part hadn't been a dream. Only a couple of days after their happy return, trouble called the Keybearer forth to danger once more. The worst part was that he didn't want just Sora's help. Odd, considering the nature of the threat.

"Sora, you'll be late for school! Come and get your breakfast!"

Sora jumped at his mom yelling downstairs and looked out of his window. Being on an important quest for so long, and about to leave for another soon, school didn't even seem possible. Yet here he was, woken up and about to be late again. He climbed out of bed in near-record speed and hunted around for his uniform. Blue pants, matching blazer, white shirt, that god-awful blue plaid tie that annoyed him to the point where he always took it off after second class. He much rather preferred the outfit he received from the Good Fairies. That was the only outfit Sora made sure to take care of, putting it in the closet. But if Donald and Goofy weren't here, his Drive forms didn't really hold much purpose.

They would soon, though.

As he was stuffing who-knew-what in his briefcase-like backpack, he took a second glance at the letter. At the last minute he snatched it up and put it in his pocket. He had already reread it a thousand times, but he couldn't bring himself to admit it was true.

After mowing down breakfast, racing out the door, then coming back to retrieve his lunch from his mom's hands, Sora made a mad dash for the first signpost in town. They met there to walk to school together every morning, and he was always the last.

Eventually the buildings and two people standing on the first crossroads came into view. The first was a bemused Kairi, in her white blouse and plaid skirt; the second was Riku in his own uniform, looking none too pleased. Sora stepped hard on one of his feet to brake, bringing him to a less-than-graceful stop. Kairi couldn't hold it in anymore and giggled loudly.

"Why is it that fighting all kinds of evil comes easy, but getting up on time is a challenge for you?" Riku complained, reaching out a hand to help Sora up. The brunette brushed himself off and pouted.

"I just haven't got back into the swing of things, that's all," he explained.

"Your hair's a mess," Kairi pointed out, putting her hands in the brown mess and straightening it up as best as she could. Sora looked over at her and smiled, getting an even prettier one in return. It seemed he had traveled for ages to see that smile again.

Suddenly, as if he had forgotten it, Sora reached in his pants pocket. As they began walking towards the school at the edge of town, he unfolded the piece of paper and began reading. Riku looked over his shoulder when he heard the rustling of paper and made a face.

"You're reading it _again_? Sora, I know we just came back, but—"

Sora looked at him with a hurt expression. Riku's glare immediately softened. Kairi turned to look at the two of them, feeling another in-depth argument coming on.

"I know. 'We may not be gone for so long this time.' It _is_ Maleficent, after all. But there's a few parts I just don't get."

"Read it again," Kairi suggested. "Maybe we missed something."

"How could we have missed something? He read it—"

Riku stopped in the middle of his complaint when the redhead gave him a hard stare, and he sighed. Somewhere along the way, she had gained a degree of confidence—or stubbornness, he really couldn't tell. Sora focused as he walked and read the letter aloud at the same time:

"_Dear Sora, Kairi, and Riku,_

_I deeply apologize for calling you back so soon, but more trouble's brewin'. At first I wasn't too concerned; it seems Maleficent didn't go down so easy when she stopped the Heartless for us in the Castle that Never Was. She used her full power to do it, so she's weak, and as usual she got Pete runnin' around doin' the dirty work. I was gonna take care of 'em myself, but there's more to it._

_Someone broke into Ansem's old laboratory at Radiant Garden and the mansion in Twilight Town. Leon said all the data relatin' to the Heartless-makin' machine underground was stolen from the computer. As for Twilight Town, all of Ansem the Wise's notes he kept while he was there are gone, and not just the Reports—everything! On top o' that Pete's been given new powers by Maleficent, and he's spreadin' Heartless and Nobodies throughout all the worlds. I dunno what Maleficent's planning now, but I have a feelin' it's serious._

_I know Riku and Kairi have been chosen as Keybearers too. Just to make sure, I'd like you to bring 'em along, Sora. The less portals we open in interspace, the better, so when we figure out what to do, we'll come for ya. See ya soon._"

It was signed with his seal.

"Let's go over this one more time," Riku said, finally giving into his friends' curiosity. "So Maleficent isn't dead—"

"And neither is Pete," Sora added, "and Maleficent has control over the Heartless _and_ the Nobodies."

"How'd she do that?" asked Kairi. "Weren't the Nobodies on the Organization's side?"

"This one guy once told me that they follow whoever's the strongest. We took down the Organization, and since Maleficent survived in the end, I guess she gained their trust," Sora explained. "Then there's the thefts…no doubt Pete's work, though I'm surprised he was smart enough to pull it off. They got some data from the computer and all of the real Ansem's notes."

"So the question is what they wanted the information for, and what was on those other notes that was so interesting. You think they're going to make more Heartless from that machine?"

"I doubt it," Riku brushed off Kairi's question. "Besides…all you need to make Heartless…are people with darkness in their hearts."

He said it in such a distant voice, as if it were a second thought. Sora nodded, remembering that Master Yen Sid had told him the exact same thing. A second later he shook his head.

"Yeah, but…only Maleficent's like that, right? I took care of Jafar, Ursula, Oogie Boogie…all of 'em. Maleficent may be bad, but she couldn't make enough Heartless to invade all the worlds at once on her own. And why is she making Pete invade the worlds with Heartless and Nobodies, anyway? Is she trying to lure me out?"

Riku stopped walking, a cautious glint in his eyes.

"You're right, Sora. Nothing adds up. We better be ready."

The thunderous song of the school bell's melody shattered the still air and broke everyone's thoughts. School was starting. Kairi gasped and started to run.

"We're late, guys!"

Sora took off after her, and a second later, Riku wasn't far behind.

…That afternoon was much more slow-paced, although Riku was even more grouchy than he had been in the morning. They had been late, and because of that it was after-school cleaning duty for them. Fortunately it was a small school. But Sora knew not to take it personally; Riku was just as glad as the rest of them that they were home, but he was restless…probably _too_ restless.

Meanwhile, Kairi had run farther ahead, trying to catch up with Selphie.

"Hey, Selphie!"

Selphie heard her name being called and turned around. She stopped and waved towards her as she waited for Kairi.

"…Thanks…" Kairi gasped, bent over and trying to catch her breath.

"What's up?" Selphie asked cheerfully.

"Do…you think…you could collect out schoolwork…for a few days?"

"You mean yours, Sora's, and Riku's? Sure, but why…?"

The idea dawned on her a second later.

"You're not leaving again, are you?" she asked mournfully.

Kairi gave her an encouraging grin. "Much shorter this time. We'll be back by the end of this week. Promise."

Selphie thought about it for a while. Whatever Kairi said, she followed through on it. Of course she could hold her up to that. She nodded, and Kairi asked, "So, are you going to the island today?"

Selphie frowned and shook her head. "I'd like to, but I have homework. I think Tidus and Wakka already went, though."

"We might go," Kairi said. "I'll have to check with Sora and Riku. Thanks, Selphie! I owe you one!"

Kairi ran behind her, moving towards her two friends. Selphie stared at her retreating back and sighed.

"_Much shorter this time._"

She hoped it would be true.

…An hour later, Riku and Kairi stood patiently outside of Sora's house, changed out of their uniforms, looking up at the balcony that was connected to his room. There was a private bet between the two about when, if ever, would Sora hurt himself jumping down from that balcony whenever he met them for going out to the island. It wasn't that far from the ground, but…this was Sora they were talking about.

The windowpanes clicked and swung open. All in an instant a black and yellow streak leaped from the edge and landed in front of them without any incident whatsoever.

"You think anybody'll be there today?" Sora asked, dusting off his magically enhanced outfit. He opened one of his large red pockets to see if he forgot any keychains. It was a precaution. For the past five days they had staked out the island to see if anyone arrived to pick them up, by Gummi Ship or any other means. No one had come yet, but they still tried.

"We've been checking for the past five days. They must have thought of something by now," Riku answered, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

As soon as he said something, the smallest of dust storms began whirling on a single point on the road ahead of them. They turned around in surprise in time to see the small cyclone become increasingly bigger until a large puff of blue smoke and sparkles came from out of nowhere. Then they heard coughing and complaining, the form of a robed old man becoming more visible.

"Ugh…I told His Majesty we should've come by Gummi!"

"Merlin!"

The wizard adjusted his glasses and stared hard at the three friends standing in front of him. His bushy eyebrows raised, furrowed together, and then finally settled on a pleased expression.

"Ah, yes, Sora! Hello! Oh, and this must be your friends Riku and Kairi. The King mentioned them in much detail." He adjusted his glasses again and took in the view of the islands and the sea. "My, no wonder you three were so anxious to return. Quite a lovely world, isn't it?"

"Where's the King? Didn't he come with you?"

Merlin shook his head. "The less people I carried with me the first time, the more power I'd have to bring you all back. Don't worry. The King, Donald, Goofy, and everyone are in Radiant Garden, waiting for you. I'm afraid I'll have to tell His Majesty that all these Heartless and Nobody attacks will be too much for me to handle, though. You'll have no choice but to go by Gummi Ship."

He groaned and clutched his back. "Oh, I'm terribly tired..."

Sora showed him to the front steps of his house, where Merlin sat, still muttering under his breath about the complications of interspace.

"So, are there any Heartless or Nobodies in Radiant Garden?"

"Hm? Well, they've increased, but it's still nothing Leon and the others can't handle. We had a scare right before the theft; they wouldn't let anyone go near the promenade. After that, they disappeared as suddenly as they came. The thief probably got what they wanted by then."

"Is Tron okay?" Certainly that was a concern. After their final bout with the MCP, Tron had taken over the computer system so it could be free for the "Users", those who were in the outside world. Sora hoped the thief hadn't done anything to hurt him…

"He's fine. Leon went to check on things right after the Heartless and the Nobodies left. Tron said some information was missing from the database, and that was about it. Same with Twilight Town. His Majesty said nothing was unusual…except there's been a large increase of Heartless and Nobodies there as well. But he did say something was odd about how they were acting."

"Odd?" Riku asked suspiciously.

"Yes. As far as we can tell there's been no attacks on humans. It's as if they're not even interested in collecting hearts anymore."

Before any of them could respond to this alarming news, Merlin stood up and arched his back, finally feeling rested enough for one more trip through interspace.

"But I believe it's best if you come see for yourselves. Now, is everyone ready?"

Sora's stomach dropped. The joy of seeing Merlin again almost made him forget about the grim fact he was leaving Destiny Islands again. But there was a bright side: at least his friends would be with him this time. He looked at his friends to make sure that this was truly it. Kairi smiled cheerfully and Riku gave his usual confident smirk. Sora turned back to the wizard and nodded.

"All right then. Now let's see…"

He took out his wand and waved it about dramatically, closing his eyes for extra concentration. The whirlwind returned, engulfing all four of them in a show of blue smoke and sparkling effects. The last sight Sora saw was the early afternoon sun hovering over the blue seas and the tiny island off the coast, where this whole adventure began.

(End Chap. 2)

Me: I know, not much action. It'll get better soon, though. I believe in plot development; I have to. I want to be a real novelist soon.

Larxene: Blah, blah, blah…it's always about Sora, isn't it?

Me: Well, he IS the main character in the games, if not the most important one. Don't worry. First you have to be brought back to life.

Larxene: And how'll that happen?

Me: Not with a fingersnap, I'll tell you that much. Join us again for Chapter 3, won't you?


	3. Poetic Injustice

Title: Fire, Light, and Floodwater's Height

By: Dr. Kim-chan

Me: I know it's a little boring, but it'll speed up during this chapter. Since I'm feeling generous, I'll let loose some of the plot to hook the readers. (calls everyone like the Brady kids) Xemnas, Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, Saïx, Axel, Demyx, Luxord, Marluxia, Larxene, Roxas! Round up!

(Eventually everyone gets here…in interesting ways. Xigbar walks in on the ceiling, Xemnas uses a dark portal, Axel arrives in a blast of flames (thereby burning a hole in the carpet), Xaldin busts through the ceiling, Zexion sniffs me out while timidly crawling out of a dark closet, Demyx uses the same technique Axel does but splashes water all over the place instead, and Saïx mows through the wall with his claymore. Everyone else uses the front door, but Lexaeus, not really knowing his own strength, accidentally rips it off the hinges.)

Me: (angry anime-vein) From now on, everybody else use your dark portals like Xemnas! You're Organization XIII, dammit! Use the powers your cursed existence gave you!

Zexion: But…some of us were.

Me: (smacks him in the nose with a dead, wet mackerel) Don't contradict me! (he nearly gags from the fishy smell) Anyway, the story begins as an action/adventure fic with Sora and Maleficent, but it'll end as a romance with Axel and Roxas…and maybe some other people. I dunno. Demyx may find somebody.

Demyx: Yay!

Marluxia: What makes THEM so special?

Me: Axel, would you like to demonstrate to Marxie how bad fire is for flowers? (Axel smiles evilly)

Marluxia: I'll be good!

Me: Good. ANYWAY…long story short, Maleficent has a plan to bring you all back and do some crazy stuff, and it's a race between her and Sora to see if she does. Let's see, shall we?

Disclaimer: If I did own, would Axel have died? (crickets) I rest my case.

(Begin Chap. 3)

…It seemed like only a few seconds, at the least, but it was the craziest few seconds he had ever experienced. It was a weird, dizzying sensation. Eating too many paopu fruits, riding that Dragon Nobody's back in the Land of Dragons, using the currents to sail through the air with Peter Pan in Neverland, walking around in a whale's intestines, hitting Heartless hard using every possible combination in every possible position, dodging flying buildings, being sucked up in all kinds of portals…close or nowhere near to those sensations…bottom line, it was bizarre.

The next thing he knew, he and his friends were in a dark room and people were calling out his name cheerfully.

"Sora!"

When he was finally able to stop his feet from going in several different directions at once, he first made sure that Kairi, Riku, and Merlin were still beside him. They were at the wizard's home in Radiant Garden now, the base of operations for the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee. There they all were; Yuffie, Leon (or so he preferred to be called), Aerith, Cid…

A four-foot mouse in an ominous-looking black cloak…a duck holding a wand, and a tall, happy-looking dog…

"Donald! Goofy!" Sora cried out, running over and sweeping them up into a crushing hug. All the sadness he felt over leaving Destiny Islands vaporized in a matter of seconds. Riku ran over and greeted King Mickey in the same way. As Kairi didn't know any of these people, she just stood by shyly, but that problem was quickly solved. Sora then went over to her and practically pushed her into the center of the room next to Riku.

"Leon, Yuffie, Cid, Merlin, I'd like you to meet my two best friends, Riku and Kairi."

Yuffie giggled. "We already know, silly. You spent the last, what, year or so looking for 'em?"

"Glad to see you found them," Leon said quietly. Whether Leon was aware of it or not, he was the one who set Sora on his mission.

("_Sora…go with them. Especially if you want to find your friends._")

King Mickey was about to say his piece when Merlin walked up to him and gave him a hard glare. "I'm sorry, your Majesty, but I put my foot down on the matter. Besides, I'm sure they've already opened up corridors of their own like they did the last time. We have no choice but to use the Gummi ships again."

Mickey's eyes scrunched up in thought. "Gee, I s'pose you're right. I just hoped there was some other way…"

"Oh yeah!" Sora exclaimed, turning around to face him. "What's this about the Heartless and Nobodies not attacking anybody? So why'd I have to bring Riku and Kairi?"

"Welp, you see, Sora, at the same time I'm relieved, but it's also suspicious. They never acted this way before. It wasn't until just after I came back here that two days ago that we figured it out. It's more like they're lookin' for somethin'."

"Then we found this in the computer lab."

Leon held up a black CD in one of his gloved hands. When Sora squinted hard enough, he could see a kind of greenish-colored, sinister energy emanating from it.

"It reeks with Maleficent's magic," Yuffie complained, stepping away from it.

"Normally Tron would have detected someone uploading data from the database and sent an alert to either his computer or ours," Leon started, pointing to Cid's computer console in one corner of the room, "but the fact he was only able to report the theft after it happened makes me think the magic in this CD was used to freeze the system so Tron wouldn't notice."

"We was just 'bout to see what was on it when you guys showed up," Cid said, walking up and taking the CD from Leon, then going to his computer console.

_Only Pete would be stupid enough to leave evidence behind_, Sora thought. Everyone crowded around the monitor as the CD's program booted up. A dark screen suddenly popped up, displaying a rectangular field to type in and prompting the user for a password.

"Of course it'd be password-protected," Yuffie groaned.

"Most likely Pete was the one who chose the password," Mickey said. "What would it be, I wonder? If I were Pete…"

_If he was Pete…_that was it!

"It's just a hunch, but try 'steamboat'!"

Cid typed it in, and they were allowed in.

"Gawrsh, how'd you know, your Majesty?" Goofy wondered.

"Believe me, there was nothin' Pete loved more than his steamboat. 'Course I said it was just a hunch—"

"It's a poem."

Aerith was staring at the monitor with her chin in her hand thoughtfully. She pointed to the column of words displayed that had been opened when Cid clicked on an unknown link.

"That's it? A poem?" Donald quacked in disappointment.

"You know what I said when we got the King's letter, Sora. Maybe it has a deeper meaning."

With that, Kairi proceeded to read it out loud:

"_From darkness untold, into the light they shall unfold,_

_Old hearts grown cold, let it be._

_Thirteen treasures to find, that are hidden behind_

_No place defined to others, except for me._

_vvv_

_The first of these treasures, will hereby be lost forever,_

_For I do so endeavor to take his place._

_Number One, you were a fool—so useless, and a tool._

_Instead I shall rule. Now let us make haste._

_vvv_

_The second is an arrow, with a dragon so small and narrow_

_He quickly sought to borrow, just for a while._

_Number Two, a man of sharp eye, stealth; and by and by_

_His dangerous arrows will fly, and make no man smile._

_vvv_

_The third is a weapon's edge, hidden within a castle's hedge,_

_Amongst a most dangerous ledge. Take the greatest care!_

_Number Three, an ultimate source, of mind-bending force_

_He can change the wind's course and command the air._

_vvv_

_The fourth was in a book, and from those pages were took_

_Written thoughts of a crook, although he was smart_

_Number Four, a presence cold, he once made plans and stole_

_The second Keybearer's identity and soul, but not his heart._

_vvv_

_The fifth in a once-locked world, and in that dark castle unfurled_

_Is a rock never hurled at anyone, out of spite._

_Number Five, he never spoke, but great strength he evoked_

_He'll be formidable once awoke, to my delight._

_vvv_

_The sixth left seldom to spare, except a scent in the air_

_An essence one cannot bear in their own hands_

_Number Six hid behind many a face; he barely left a trace._

_So there is no time to waste. Quick sense this treasure demands._

_vvv_

_The seventh cannot be measured, though within a solitary ledger_

_The magic to capturing this treasure will be revealed._

_Number Seven, captive of lunar light, will show them his pitiless might_

_Feel fright when you see the one who cannot feel._

_vvv_

_The eighth lies with a hero, the effort to find it will be zero._

_A keychain left behind—oh! What a tragedy._

_Number Eight, whose only wish was to see a dear friend gone amiss_

_To fatal flames you will again bear witness. He is the key._

_vvv_

_The ninth is a broken string, from an instrumental thing_

_To seek it courage one must bring, to descend into death's lair_

_Number Nine, an aquatic master, though his last moments were a disaster_

_The Keyblade against mere water? How unfair._

_vvv_

_The tenth are dice held by a man who searches the seas and land_

_For other treasures most grand. The luck within them he saw._

_Number Ten, a man of time, and tactical skills most divine_

_But I offer a cautious line: a poor game could be one's last draw._

_vvv_

_The eleventh comes from a flower that once caused a good Witch to cower._

_Such pretty things empowered an assassin most sinister._

_Number Eleven, your fate is carefully kept, within the deepest depths_

_Of a dark jungle where animals have crept and over it minister._

_vvv_

_The twelfth is a knife that was used in thunderous strife_

_It belonged to a female life whose existence was swept away._

_Number Twelve, your treasure's in a place where screams and fears erase_

_The smile from a traveler's face; where night never falls to day._

_vvv_

_The last is the hardest to obtain, for that person hasn't been slain_

_He had an existence to gain from his other half._

_But if Number Thirteen gets a mind to leave his newfound light behind_

_Then the seeker of these treasures, you'll find, will have the last laugh._

_vvv_

_Each treasure is a piece missed, from warriors once dismissed_

_The eternal darkness they kissed, and so they lost their proud ways._

_Now they will rise up anew, to reclaim what is long past due._

_For the Keybearers, this rings true: it shall be your last days._"

Silence overtook the room for a good long while afterwards. Then…

"Thirteen treasures...warriors…numbers…," Riku whispered hesitantly.

"Organization XIII."

Everyone froze up at Sora's words. They looked up at the poem on the screen again.

"Oh, I see it now," Riku muttered. "Numbers One through Thirteen; they were all called by those numbers. Each part describes a member. Like, that part right there, where it says, '_The eleventh comes from a flower that once caused a good Witch to cower/Such pretty things empowered an assassin most sinister…_'. That's Marluxia all right."

"But what are these 'treasures' she's talking about?" asked Kairi.

"I think she's sayin' that Organization XIII isn't completely gone," Mickey said, earning him a distraught and almost comical facial expression from Sora and nearly everyone else. "When they were defeated, each member of Organization XIII left a piece of themselves behind—'cept for two people. Apparently she wants to take Xemnas's place."

"And Roxas isn't dead. He's just inside Sora," Kairi added.

Mickey nodded. "This ain't so much a poem as it's a list, tellin' what these pieces are and where we can find 'em. Now I get why they needed the data for that machine in the laboratory basement! Maleficent's plannin' to collect the pieces and bring Organization XIII back to life! Jiminy, you got the poem copied down?"

Sora hadn't noticed it until Mickey said something just then, but standing on the console with his journal was their long-time recorder of travels, copying the poem down onto paper. The smartly-dressed grasshopper jotted down two more lines before shutting the journal and hopping on Sora's shoulder.

"Got it, your Majesty."

Mickey looked up at Sora again. "All we gotta do is go around and collect all the pieces before Maleficent gets 'em. But there's one more thing I gotta tell ya. The reason I didn't wanna use Gummi Ships was because there's a chance two more doorways will open up."

"To where?"

"The first is to the World that Never Was. Maleficent took over the castle there. The second may be to Castle Oblivion. That used to be the Organization's base, so there might be somethin' there, too."

Letting this all sink in, Sora groaned, nearly kneeling down to the floor.

"First the Ansem we fight the first time isn't even real, then I fight half of the Organization, lose my memories, I had to sleep for a long time to get them back, fight the other half of the Organization, including the actual Ansem who wasn't…really…Ansem, but was…"

Sora gave up and sat right down on the stone floor, confused by his own ranting. Kairi gave him a sympathetic glance.

"Don't worry. We'll be back before we know it, but it is serious. Maleficent knows where the pieces are, but she doesn't have 'em yet, otherwise she woulda gone through with her plan already," Mickey informed. "So they're out lookin', too, getting the Heartless and Nobodies to help 'em. This time we're splittin' into two groups, and this time _I_ get Donald and Goofy."

Sora was beyond surprised. Donald and Goofy have been his companions on every mission he ever had, practically forever. Why the change in routine?

Suddenly the implications of Mickey's instructions set in, and he broke into a wide smile. "Does that mean…Riku and Kairi come with me?" he stuttered, barely able to contain his excitement. Donald and Goofy looked the exact same way.

"You mean it, your Majesty?" exclaimed Donald, jumping up and down.

"Aw, shucks, Sora. I can't split you all up again. Besides, me, Donald, and Goofy got a lotta catchin' up to do, and Riku and Kairi'll be a lotta help, and I don't just mean that they're Keybearers either. Friendship and happiness is what keeps you going on long journeys like this. With them on your side, you'll have plenty of it."

For the first time in days, Riku showed a genuine smile along with Kairi.

"So…which group goes to find which treasures?" Sora asked.

"First thing's first. Sora, can I see your Keychains?"

"Huh? Oh…okay."

Sora opened his pocket, took out all of the Keychains he collected over the course of his last journey, and poured them into Mickey's hand. Mickey took care not to drop them as he used two pinched and gloved fingers to sort through them. After about a minute he found the one he wanted to see. One Keychain in particular was dangling from his other hand—on the other end was a tiny replica of a red and silver spiked chakram. Sora almost felt his stomach drop as those heartbreaking memories came back. It was Bond of Flame, the Keychain he received in the realm of Betwixt and Between when Axel gave his life to save him, allowing him to go to the World that Never Was and save Kairi.

"If the poem's right, this is the piece of Axel that was left behind. He lent the last of his strength to you in the form of this Keychain." He put it in the pocket of his black cloak. "I'll keep this with me. We're off to a good start; that leaves us with only ten more pieces. Sora, Riku, Kairi; I want you guys to collect the pieces of Larxene, Zexion, Luxord, Saix, and Demyx. We'll get Lexeaus, Xaldin, Vexen, Marluxia, and Xigbar. Once we collect 'em all, we meet up back here."

"Got it."

"First thing's first, though. We need Gummi Ships."

"I got it covered," Cid said, swaggering to the door. "When we first fixed this place up, we put the Gummi Garage where no one would find it—right under our feet. The doorway's under Merlin's table."

As if that was his cue, Merlin waved his wand around. The table on the circular platform leapt up and floated towards the ceiling, which at first glance only revealed the floor underneath. But upon closer inspection there was a carefully hidden hatch with an outline of a door between the brickwork.

"Just like old times, huh, Sora?" asked Riku, putting his arm around his friend's shoulders.

"Nope…better."

(End Chap. 3)

Me: And so the epic journey begins!

Marluxia: And we start to get some screen time! Finally!

Me: Axel…flowers…fire…

Marluxia: I'll be good!

Me: The rhyme scheme of the poem was inspired by a manga I've been reading called Bizenghast. Good horror stuff. After this, once in a while Roxas is going to break in with some flashbacking action, explaining bit by bit how the whole AkuRoku thing started and developed. Oh, and Demyx has a thing for Axel so he's gonna repeatedly try to kill Roxas.

Demyx: But I don't like killing, especially kids!

Me: Well, at least I'm gonna make you more manly and evil…and less doofus-like, so don't complain. And now I leave you with Dr. Kim-chan's Organization Fun Fact of the Day. Vexen sounds an awful lot like "vixen", and he _is_ a sexy scientist. Hey Vixen! (giggles)

Vexen: (bristles with anger)


	4. Poisoned Honey Part One

Title: Fire, Light, and Floodwater's Height

By: Dr. Kim-chan

(Today me and the Organization are in a Japanese-style room in Marluxia's greenhouse, where we're learning flower arranging from the pansy—I mean, the man himself.)

Me: I've noticed you people fight a lot…and not with Sora, either. So I'm going to do what Xemnas was either simply unable or too uncaring to do—make you all get along.

Xemnas (sitting in front of a pot full of hydrangeas and dry branches): Hah! Good luck!

Vexen (has genetically-enhanced blue and white flowers): Well, we _would_ be able to establish some sort of brotherhood in this association if CERTAIN PEOPLE were more RELUCTANT about KILLING others with no mercy! (glares in Axel's direction, and for those who don't know it's explained in Chain of Memories)

Axel (with red roses): Well, YOU were going to tell Sora about Roxas! (sadly) I…I don't know what I'd do without him. (picks off a rose and gives it to Roxas, who's handling daisies and bare twigs)

Me: (choked up) Aww…Vixen, that's just the thing I'm talking about! Now shut up and fix your damn lilies! (Axel turns his head around and smiles evilly)

Vexen: My name is NOT Vixen…and my lilies are just fine! They're lying in an exact 90-degree parallel.

Marluxia: When will you learn that it's not about the exactness but about the beauty?

Vexen: When you realize we've all been making fun of your PINK scythe behind your back.

Marluxia: Care to see what I can do with it? (Vexen—I mean, Vixen—runs for his life while everyone's cheering Marluxia on, even Axel.)

Me: Um…I don't own KH, blah blah blah, and if you didn't get the memo the first time, I'd like to remind you that three dots before the start of a paragraph indicate a change in time, location, or both. Read on! (barely misses the scythe's blade) Dammit, watch where you're swinging that thing!

(Begin Chap. 4)

…Kairi's face was pressed against the side window of the Highwind Five, one of many modified versions of the original Highwind design. She never flew through interspace in a Gummi Ship before, of course, and little by little she was realizing her growing envy of Sora and his past adventures. Interspace was a myriad of color, stars, odd shapes, and…well, space. It was simple, but beautiful. Sora was in the main seat, and Riku, who was somehow roped into being second pilot, was trying to figure out how the damn thing worked.

Apparently Cid had been inspired; there had been more than ten models to choose from. After taking an agonizingly long time, Sora finally decided on the Highwind Five. On this one were two small ships on the side. Cid called these new inventions Teeny Ships—mini-ships that provided extra firepower and defense. The chipmunk engineers Chip and Dale were aboard Sora's ship; King Mickey alone had more than enough experience. On the other hand, Sora tended to be a reckless driver (great, but reckless) and don't get us started on the lack of talent the other two had. But Kairi was simply content to stare out the window.

Suddenly a thought struck her. "Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"A year ago, when we made that raft…if this is what's in-between all the worlds, would we have run into interspace eventually?" she asked. Sora didn't answer right away, stalled by that question himself.

"Well, unless the ocean on our world is never-ending or leads to another place on our world we never heard about, I seriously doubt it," Riku answered for him. He sighed and crossed his arms behind his head, leaning back into the seat. "Speaking of which, where should we head first?"

Sora was about to suggest a place when Chip's high-pitched voice came over the intercom on the dashboard.

"We're getting a transmission from the Falcon Two. Push the flashing yellow button at the top left to patch it through."

The Falcon Two was one of the newest Gummi Ship models: no Teeny Ships, but it was a sleek black, yellow, and purple vessel with "speed like you won't believe", or so Cid said. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy had taken it, which had almost made Sora change his mind about choosing the Highwind Five until a thinly-veiled death threat by Riku made him stick with his first decision. Sora looked for the identified button and pressed it.

"Donald Duck to Sora and crew. You copy?"

"Yeah, we copy," Sora said. "What's up?"

"We're heading for the Land of Dragons. What's your course?"

"There's a piece in the Land of Dragons?" Sora asked. "What part of the poem says that?"

Jiminy popped up out of nowhere onto Sora's shoulder and opened his journal to the copied poem. "Let's see…here it is. _The second is an arrow, with a dragon so small and narrow/He quickly sought to borrow, just for a while_."

"A dragon small and narrow…Mushu!"

"Yep," Goofy's voice replied. "Sounds like he found one of Xigbar's arrows. We're goin' in order from closest to farthest world. The King says Pete's most likely followin' the same pattern."

"Sounds like a plan. I think we'll go by number order on the list. Who's the first we're supposed to look for?"

"Number Six. Zexion," Riku said. "But I think we should save him for last. All he left was a scent, and Pete doesn't know what he smells like, so that's the least of our worries. Who's after Zexion?"

Jiminy looked through the page. "Number Seven."

"Saïx," Kairi immediately piped up, and Sora looked at her. "He kidnapped me when I escaped Axel and went to Twilight Town. Riku saved me—I mean, me and Naminè—from him."

Riku seemed to be either indifferent or embarrassed.

"The poem says: _The seventh cannot be measured, though within a solitary ledger/The magic to capturing this treasure will be revealed._ Hmm…a solitary ledger…"

"What book is a world, though?" Kairi wondered.

Without warning, Sora pushed the yellow button again to switch channels. "Chip! Dale! Set coordinates back to Radiant Garden!"

…"_Back already?_"

Despite protests from nearly everyone on the Gummi Ship, Sora had turned it around and raced right back to Radiant Garden without explaining why. Now they were back in Merlin's house where they started, where the Restoration Committee was starting to raise a stink of their own.

"The seventh piece is here! I'm sure of it!"

"What makes you think that?" demanded Leon.

"It says so in the poem. _The seventh cannot be measured, though within a solitary ledger/The magic to capturing this treasure will be revealed._"

"A ledger? As in a book? The poem could be talking about any book," Yuffie argued. "One of Merlin's books, maybe?"

"This one's special. It's a world in itself. It's Pooh's storybook."

Sora walked over to a dusty little cabinet desk next to a large pile of Merlin's spell books and other collected writings. It was the book on top of the desk that interested him: a decorative red storybook with a golden buckle strap. On the cover was an adorable illustration of Sora and Winnie the Pooh sitting on a grassy hill, staring up at the starry sky together. Kairi moved over to him and picked it up, a bemused grin on her face she was trying to suppress.

"This search is turning out to be easier than I thought," Riku said confidently.

"It's kind of funny to think Saïx is in a place like this," Kairi commented. "So all I have to do is open it?"

"Yep. I'll be back before you know it."

Throwing caution to the wind, Kairi flipped open the book to a middle page, showing various pop-up scenes. She just barely set it back on the counter when a blinding yellow light emitted from the pages and enveloped the room. To everyone's surprise, though, when the light subsided, all three of them had disappeared.

"Well now, that's never happened before," Merlin said.

…A few seconds later Sora was thinking the exact same thing.

Inside the book it was just as peaceful as ever. The sun was shining, a light breeze rustling through all the leaves in the forest. Bar none, this was Sora's favorite world to visit, although it was always the hardest to put together due to the pages constantly being torn and scattered. But for once not having to fight Heartless or Nobodies or run into anything else nasty (other than angry swarms of honeybees) was worth it.

He found himself on the dirt path leading between two oak trees towards Pooh's House, as usual, but this time Riku and Kairi had been sucked in along with him.

"That's weird. What're you guys doing here?"

"We weren't supposed to come with you?"

"It's just that the book's always taken just me in." For a moment Sora looked worried, his arms crossed in contemplation. Suddenly he adopted a huge grin on his face. "But this is way better! You'll love it here, and Pooh and his friends are the best! Pooh's House is just up this way. C'mon!"

Before they could say anything, Sora grabbed the both of them by the wrist and dragged them towards the large tree Pooh used as a house. Pooh wasn't sitting outside on his log thinking. He stepped up to the door and rang the bell beside the door.

"Pooh? You home?"

Silence. Sora checked the doorknob. It was unlocked. Cautiously, he opened the door and stepped inside. Everything looked the same as usual. There was the small wooden table, the window, the cuckoo clock beside the door, the full-length mirror, the small cabinet at the back of the room crammed with honey jars. It was obvious he wasn't home; Sora closed the door.

"He must be in another page with the others. This way!"

The trio continued down the path, and found themselves tumbling headlong into white light. The next few seconds were a blur of off-white paper, illustrations, and text. Then, as if nothing happened, they were on another path, but in a completely different location. This place had a small stream passing through it, the path leading over a bridge, through carrot and lettuce patches and stopping just short of another house, this one dug out from under a hill.

"It's quiet here, too," Riku noted immediately.

"Still doesn't hurt to check," said Kairi. But after a thorough inspection of the place, they concluded that neither Rabbit nor anyone else was here either. Sora was starting to get a little creeped out, but there he couldn't panic just yet. There were a lot of chapters to look through.

They were about to jump to the next page when a faint sound was heard below their knees. Sora looked around and spotted a line of raised dirt rushing right at them. He jumped back as it stopped just short of his toes. Something underground shook violently and then popped out, revealing itself to be Gopher.

"Hi, Gopher. Where's—?" Sora began to ask, but was cut short.

"Sssssss-Sora! I'm ssssss-so glad you came! We gotsssss trouble!"

"What kind of trouble?"

"Sssssssss-some big guy came into the book usssing sssss-some kinda magic, rounded everybody up, and trapped 'em in the Ssssss-Spooky Cave! He's at the hill; ssssss-said he was lookin' fer a piece o'…um…somethin'…"

Riku's eyebrows arched. "Pete."

"How'd HE get into the book?"

"You know those new powers the King mentioned in the letter? That's how. If he could sneak past the guys outside and into the book, I bet he doesn't even have to use a Gummi Ship to get to all the worlds." He snickered darkly. "Guess I was wrong about this being easy."

First they wanted obtain Kingdom Hearts, then they want to resurrect Organization XIII, and now they were interrupting a peaceful world like this and terrorizing Pooh Bear and his friends?

They had just crossed the line.

"Time to teach him a lesson," Sora growled. "I'll go deal with Pete. You two rescue the others."

"Wait! Sora, how do we—?" Kairi called after him. He shouted back, "It's the second-to-last chapter! Just follow the story!", and with that he was gone. Gopher looked up at the other two and quickly assessed the situation. Obviously Sora knew and trusted these people enough that he'd be traveling with them and had told them to rescue Pooh and the others on his behalf.

"You mus-st be sssss-Sora'ssss friendsss. I can guide ya through the book. Don't get lossssst now."

He dove back underground and burrowed in the same direction Sora left, Riku and Kairi closely tailing him.

…About two or three pages ahead of them, Sora found himself at the path leading to the grassy hill, the last page in the story, where Sora and Pooh always parted before he rushed off to his main quest. An enormous, yellow, round disc of a moon hung in the deep blue summer night sky, casting its soft light over the land. It reminded him of…

A silhouette of a large, bulgy figure appeared at the top of the hill, catching Sora's eye. He had caught the stranger's eye, too, for it stepped into the moonlight.

"You runts again?" it shouted. "Guess you're looking for the pieces of Organization XIII, too."

"They sure won't be safe with you and Maleficent. We found the CD you left behind in Ansem's computer. I see you haven't changed; you're just as dumb as ever," Sora called back.

"As it so happens, Maleficent specifically told me to leave that CD there for you to find. She said if there was anyone else who'd know where the pieces were, it'd be the runts who defeated 'em. All you runts hafta do is find 'em for us and everything'll be peachy-keen."

Sora sniffed derisively and summoned his Keyblade to his hand, rushing towards the hill. "Sorry. We don't do deliveries!"

Before he could get to him, Pete snapped his fingers. A mass of darkness appeared from thin air and began to stretch and mutate into some sort of hovering creature, blocking nearly the entire hill. After just a minute it took the form of a huge, grotesque, black and yellow honeybee. The red and black Heartless insignia was emblazoned on the top of its thorax. Sora stopped in his tracks, taken aback at both this weird…thing and the fact Pete was able to summon it. The only people he knew that possessed the ability to summon these extremely advanced forms of Heartless and Nobodies were the members of Organization XIII, Maleficent, and Xehanort's Heartless. Stronger powers indeed.

"KillerBee, get 'im!"

At the sound of Pete's attack command, it reared up on its back to reveal a sharp, four-foot long stinger. Sora rushed forward, but a lethal spray of stingers filled the air, the dangerous ends coming right for the Keybearer. Purely by instinct he pointed his Keyblade forward and shouted, "Reflega!"

A shield of light surrounded him, and the projectiles were thrown back at the KillerBee, but it rose further up into the air to avoid them. Sora sighed in relief, glad that he remembered his magic. He got into position and rushed forward.

…Meanwhile, on the previous page, Riku and Kairi were standing in front of the Spooky Cave's entrance, but they couldn't get in. A swarm of Heartless and Nobodies were blocking the cave. Riku closed his eyes.

"I may not have the powers of darkness anymore, but I can still feel it. There's more inside. Probably wanted to make sure they wouldn't escape." He opened his eyes and stared down at Gopher. "Can you go back inside and tell them help's on the way?"

Gopher saluted and dove down to burrow again, this time so deep inside not even the Heartless and Nobodies could detect him. As soon as he was gone, the two friends met their eyes, unafraid, at their enemies. Riku bent at the knees, prepared to go into combat, and swung an arm behind his head. In a flash of light the Way to the Dawn appeared in his hand. Following suit, Kairi reached out towards the air in front of her and concentrated. Another flash, and she reclaimed her flowery "Paradise Regained" Keyblade.

"Ready?" asked Riku.

"Just say the word," Kairi answered.

(End Chap. 4, and TBC)

Me: Yeah, no "girls having Keystaffs" crap here. Kairi has a Keyblade like any man! The name for it I chose carefully. _Paradise Regained_ is the title of the sequel to John Milton's classic poem _Paradise Lost_, and what happened at the end of Kingdom Hearts II? "Paradise" was "regained".

Axel: You're such a literary freak.

Me: That's what happens when you're an aspiring novelist who's about to go to college for creative writing. You become a literary freak. And speaking of freaking out…(surveys the scene in front of her. Everyone's flower arrangements are strewn all over the place, and the rice-paper doors are shredded. Everyone ran for cover at some point, particularly when Marluxia accidentally chopped a piece of hair from Saïx, and that yellow "Berserk" bar showed up in midair and filled up.)

Me: None of this crap better happen next chapter. There's gonna be enough action as it is. It's the Battle of the Hundred Acre Wood, coming next!


	5. Poisoned Honey Part Two

Title: Fire, Light, and Floodwater's Height

By: Dr. Kim-chan

Me: Hey everybody. (Saïx is behind me, locked in his padded cage.)

Saïx: GET ME OUT OF HERE!! I DEMAND YOU TELL ME WHY MY ESSENCE IS IN A WORLD LIKE THE HUNDRED ACRE WOOD! I AM THE MOST FEARED PERSON IN THE ORGANIZATION!!

Me: Well, it's explained here, so do try to cool down. (in a soothing voice) All…will be…explained. Oh, and some corrections I gotta tell you about. They're minor, but I'm a loyal perfectionist. One: it's been mentioned once or twice that while Pete had stole the data from the lab, the Heartless and Nobodies wouldn't let anyone near the Promenade. It's the Postern, not the Promenade. Two: in Chapter Four, I say that Mickey's team took the Falcon Two. I got one color messed up. It's yellow-purple-blue, not yellow-purple-black.

Axel: Mr. Crazy Man hanging out with Pooh Bear? Oh, the hilarious irony. (walks up to the cage and pokes Saïx with a stick)

Saïx: RAWR!!

Me: Axel, stop provoking the insane, beastlike man who isn't really a man but a Nobody.

Axel: (shrugs) His bar's about run out anyway. (we look up at the Berserk bar and see it is almost out.)

Me: Good. Tell everyone they can come out of the bunker. In the meantime, I may not do action scenes well, but I'm sure as heck going to try. Also, the Organization Fun Fact of the Day is now the Random Organization Fun Fact, appearing at any time in any chapter. Keep an eye out for it!

Disclaimer: These always make me cry…no, I don't own it!

(Begin Chap. 5)

…Sora got an eye full of light for a split second, the soft summer breezes whistling in his ears. He thought quickly about his situation.

Just a few seconds ago he had charged towards the KillerBee, ready for yet another reckless onslaught, or at the very least to get closer to the hill. Out of nowhere the insect Heartless dove towards the ground behind him and furiously beat its wings, creating a whirlwind bigger than those he had encountered in the Land of Dragons…equal to the force of Xaldin's power, perhaps? This sent Sora flying into the air, so high he felt like he could touch that gigantic moon.

He was still there, in time and midair suspended, but he had to think quickly. He could feel the force of gravity starting to press down on him, sending him on a collision course with an upward-flying shower of stingers. Um…well…Pooh did say once that winter was wonderful, but…oh bother, it was really hard to find a good, full jar of honey. And the bees in the icy Spooky Cave were twice as dangerous as those in the rest of the Hundred Acre Wood.

Bees. Hate. Cold.

Sora twisted himself at the waist, pointing his Keyblade at the KillerBee, and summoned another Reflega spell. The stingers flew back at it, and it ducked, but only to move in the direct path of a Blizzaga spell. Just as he hoped. The gigantic bee made a horrible noise like a whine and writhed about, but some ice had formed on its wings so it couldn't really go anywhere. As soon as it turned its own body around, Sora dived towards the hill, touched base, jumped off and back-flipped onto the KillerBee's back. It sensed this new passenger and became enraged. Icicles and stingers flew in all directions, including at Pete, who ducked behind the tree.

"Watch what yer doin', ya stupid bee!"

The KillerBee righted up and flew straight up into the sky, doing complicated flying maneuvers and beating its wings, hoping to throw the Keybearer off. Sora hung on for dear life.

It was now or never.

Sora plunged his Keyblade straight into the middle of the Heartless symbol.

…One chapter before…

Riku and Kairi were slashing at everything and anything, defeating Heartless and Nobodies right and left. Dense clouds puffed up and vaporized all over the place as the creatures were struck down by their weapons. Kairi was surprised this wasn't turning into a health hazard. At any rate they were making great progress; they were actually inside the cave now.

"Hope…you're not…getting tired yet!" Kairi huffed.

"Not a chance!" Riku's voice yelled back. "Hey, how deep do you think this cave is? We need to find Pooh and the others!"

"There's too many of them! As soon as I try to make a run for it, more keep coming up!" Kairi complained, fighting off three Shadows. Then Riku had an idea. He hadn't used his powers lately, but then again it had only been a few days.

"Kairi, I have a plan! Focus your power on me!"

A few more swipes to get rid of some pesky Dusks, and the two leapt backwards until the backs of their heads were touching. Closing their eyes, they focused on each other's energy. The idea Riku had was to use one of his standard, but more powerful attacks: Dark Aura. He had performed it with Sora lots of times when they met up to defeat Xemnas, so he didn't expect anything different.

But as Riku began to generate the force field, he felt an equally strong force push away instead of drawing near like it was supposed to. He saw black-and-white fireworks, and smoke from vanquished Heartless and Nobodies rising up all over the place. The next thing he knew, the cave was dim-lit and quiet, every single enemy had disappeared, and each of the two friends were way on opposite sides of the cave. In a rare moment, Riku was overwhelmingly confused, as was Kairi.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I don't know. I was trying to perform Dark Aura. It takes fragments of darkness from me and whomever I'm protecting and makes it into a shield and boosts our power," Riku explained.

Bingo.

"That's it. It has to be," he muttered. "You have no darkness within you, because you're one of the Seven Princesses. Your light must have clashed with my darkness."

"So we made a new attack?" Kairi looked around the now empty cave. "Well, it certainly did the job…"

Suddenly, the tiniest bit of worry began to prick at her. Riku just said that his special attack gathered the fragments of darkness from both people. Did that mean, deep within, Sora was wrestling with his own inner demons…?

"Gopher!" Riku shouted out, his voice echoing throughout the entire cave. "It's all clear! You all can come out now!"

…With Gopher once again leading the way, Riku, Kairi, Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit, Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga, and Roo made a dash towards the last chapter, the Starry Hill, and arrived just in time to see an enormous silvery cloud of mist disappearing into the air. They had also arrived just in time to see Sora finish an amazingly brief battle with Pete. All they saw was the flash of the Keyblade's metal tip, Pete shouting, a burst of Shadow Heartless crawling all over him, then Sora shouting "Magnega!", more flashing of the Keyblade, then Pete somehow falling off the hill and landing on where the sun didn't shine.

"Give this message to Maleficent: She can take the pieces of Organization XIII from us when she can get them herself! And don't let me catch you in the Hundred Acre Wood again!" Sora shouted angrily. Pete growled, stood up, and brushed himself off. He turned around and saw his friends. Damn—two more Keybearers. He wasn't going to take his chances.

"Oh, we'll get 'em, mark my words! You'll pay for this!"

He stretched out a chubby hand to open a portal of darkness, a la Organization XIII, and disappeared.

…"You came back just like you promised."

Everyone was now gathered at the hilltop, enjoying the newfound peace in the Hundred Acre Wood and catching up on old times. Riku and Kairi sat on the very edge, and behind them, Sora and Pooh were on the log, all his other friends crowded around them.

"I told you; I'd always be right here," Sora reminded, smiling and poking at a spot on Pooh's shirt, where his heart was. Pooh giggled, clutching at his round tummy.

"You found your friends, too. That makes me even happier," said Pooh.

"Oh, I hope we didn't miss it!" Piglet exclaimed suddenly, pacing back and forth.

"Miss what?"

"Before that bully came, we were getting ready to come here and see the Flutterbys…though we pro'bly missed them by now," Eeyore explained with his usual pessimism.

Needless to say, Sora, Kairi, and Riku were confused. "Flutterbys?"

"They come here once every summer. They're so pretty and yellow—and they come from the moon!" Roo said ecstatically. "Pooh thought they were bringing honey from the moon for the honeybees—"

"But when I tried to catch one to taste its wings, all I got was moon glitter on my tongue," Pooh continued, giggling at himself. Sora laughed and leaned back on the log, keeping his eyes on the moon. Suddenly…

"So that's what the poem meant!"

Riku turned around to see Sora's blue eyes literally sparkle with a brilliant thought. "So you know where the piece of Saïx is?"

"When I came here to fight Pete, for some reason this time around the moon reminded me of something. Now I know what it is. Remember the last time we fought Saïx in the Castle that Never Was? That place where we fought him…there was a huge window that showed the Kingdom Hearts the Organization made. You know, that heart-shaped moon he got his powers from…?"

_As the fight drew to a close, the white halls grew silent once more. Sora's Keyblade rested at his side, and he looked on as Saïx clutched at his chest, gasping for air. There was a piteous look on him that didn't fit the demeanor of the Luna Diviner. He crawled over to the window to gaze at the false moon once more…the portal to Kingdom Hearts his master had spent a lifetime to create…what everyone in Organization XIII had so been looking forward to, whether they didn't admit it or not. The strong moonbeams cast their light upon him, but it was too late._

"_Kingdom Hearts…where…is my heart…?"_

Suddenly, in front of his face and all over the Starry Hill, something began to materialize. Tiny yellow balls, glowing yellow, flittered around. Slowly, these imitation stars began to form wings, and they became lovely, ghost-like butterflies. Everyone 'ooh'ed and 'aah'ed, catching butterflies on their hands and paws and staring in every possible direction. Piglet stopped pacing and finally calmed down, even smiled. Kairi sighed in admiration, looking all around her; this had to be one of the most beautiful sights she had ever seen in her life. The one in front of Sora's face came to rest right on his nose.

"Hey, that tickles…huh?"

The Keyblade appeared in his hand once more. Both it and the butterfly on his nose began to glow in synch. Almost without being aware of it, Sora stood up. The butterfly took flight, but then it simply fluttered a short distance in front of him and hovered there.

"What's going on?" Riku asked.

"I don't know…I just have the urge to do it for some reason."

Sora raised his Keyblade, pointing the glowing tip straight at the yellow butterfly. In his mind, a small voice called out to him:

"_The poem is more than a mere puzzle. Each verse is the key to each Organization member. These words hold their fates. Say the poem._"

Sora nodded, reciting Saïx's part almost through pure instinct.

"'_The seventh cannot be measured, though within a solitary ledger, the magic to capturing this treasure will be revealed. Number Seven, captive of lunar light, will show them his pitiless might. Feel fright when you see the one who cannot feel._'"

A beam of light shot out and hit the butterfly, making a barely audible clicking sound, like a door shutting and locking itself. A white force field surrounded the butterfly, eventually forming a beautiful glass box with a special type of gold lock on the lid. The number "7" was engraved in gold at the top. The box gradually floated towards Sora until it came to rest in his open palms. Riku and Kairi got up and walked over to see.

"That's one down…" Kairi trailed off.

"And nine more to go," Riku finished.

"I guess when we find a piece of an Organization member, the Keyblade lets me know," Sora asked. He gazed into the glass box at the glowing butterfly and smiled deviously. "I guess Saïx isn't so tough now, is he?"

(End Chap. 5)

(Now the Unknown Place Where the Fanfic Author Lives (otherwise known as UPWFAL) is in a state of total chaos. I thought it was safe to let Saïx out, but he flipped out again when he saw that the piece of his essence was a butterfly created from a moonbeam.)

Me (hiding behind a potted plant with Roxas and Demyx): We have to be quiet…otherwise he'll find us.

Demyx: What?

Me: (just a smidge louder): I said we have to be quiet…otherwise he'll find us.

Demyx: Who'll find us?

Me: Saïx.

Demyx: Who?

Me: (just a little bit louder) Saïx!

Demyx: WHO?

Me: (yells at the top of my voice) SAIX, DAMMIT, SAIX!!

Saïx (looks over in our direction with an evil glint in his eye)

All: Oh damn.


End file.
